Effects of seasonality and irrigation on malaria transmission in two villages in Côte d'Ivoire

The seasonality of malaria transmission was investigated in two villages in central Cote d'Ivoire: one usually with irrigated rice farming (Zatta) and one without (Tiemelekro). Adult mosquitoes were collected, from February 2002 to August 2005, inside and outside sentinel houses. In Tiemelekro, the biting rate of Anopheles gambiae s.s. showed a significant difference between the dry and rainy season only in 2003 (P>0.001). The corresponding rates for An. funestus s.s. showed significant seasonal differences in both 2002 and 2003 (P>0.001 for each year). In Zatta in 2003-2004, when irrigated rice farming was interrupted, there was no significant difference between the An. gambiae s.s. biting rates recorded in the dry and rainy seasons. In both 2002 and 2005, however, when irrigated rice farming was practised, the An. gambiae s.s. biting rate recorded in Zatta during the rainy season was significantly higher than that seen in the dry season (P>0.001 for each year). With just one exception (in Tiemelekro in 2005, the prevalence of Plasmodium infection in the An. funestus was significantly higher in the rainy season than in the dry season), no significant seasonal differences were seen in the prevalences of Plasmodium infection among the An. gambiae or An. funestus. In conclusion, although malaria transmission is quite stable in central Cote d'Ivoire throughout the year, it can be distinctly modified by irrigated rice farming